with
Kathleen until Mother 'Larkey put her in the crib for her afternoon nap,
he wandered out towards the woodshed from behind which he heard the
voices of Danny and Celia Jane.

On the way an idea popped all of a sudden into his mind. The dazzling
splendor of it first brought him to a dead halt and then set him running
breathlessly to join the Mullarkey children. He found them all gathered
about Danny, hungrily watching him eat a green apple.

"Couldn't we play circus!" he exclaimed, in eager excitement at the idea
that had come to him.

"We could if we wanted to," replied Danny, in that superior,
ardor-dampening way of his.

Jerry felt his enthusiasm for the idea oozing out of his bare toes.
"I--Don't we want to, Danny?"

"Oh, yes, let's!" cried Nora eagerly. "I'm tired of ante-over and
run-sheep-run and pump-pump-pull-away--"

"And hidin'-go-seek and tree-tag," interrupted Celia Jane. She turned to
Jerry. "How do you play circus?"

"You just--just _play_ it," he answered. "'Maginary you're an el'funt
jumpin' a fence and all."

"I'll be the el'funt!" cried Danny.

"I want to be the el'funt," objected Chris.

"The el'funt's mine," Jerry asserted and he closed his lips tightly.
Danny didn't have any right to that elephant. "I saw it first," he
added.

"I said 'I'll be the el'funt' first, didn't I?" asked Danny.

"Jerry orter have first choice," said Nora, the conciliator, "seein' it
was him thought of playin' circus."

"I guess I can jump the highest, can't I?" Danny asked in a tone that
said as plain as day that that settled the matter.

"It's my el'funt!" insisted Jerry.

"You always take first choice," Chris complained.

"You could take turns about being el'funt," Nora suggested.

Jerry wanted with all his soul to play that sublime elephant jumping the
fence and he summoned up all his courage. "I won't play," cried he, with
a suspicious quiver of his lips. "I won't! I won't!"

"I'll let you be el'funt part of the time," Danny promised, "just to
keep you from cryin'."

"I ain't goin' to cry," returned Jerry hotly. "I ain't!"

"We can't have a circus with just a el'funt," said Celia Jane.

"Of course, we can't," said Danny decisively and turned to Jerry. "What
else'll we have?"

"Couldn't we have more'n one el'funt?" Jerry asked hopefully.

"What'd we want with more'n one el'funt?" Danny queried in scorn. "I
guess one el'funt's enough for one circus. Anyway, we want something
besides el'f